ROSALES, Pangasinan – The National Food Authority (NFA) held a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday for the P280-million modernized warehouse that would have rice dryer and milling machines in Barangay Carmay East here.

NFA Administrator Larry Lacson, in an interview, said the warehouse can accommodate 120 tons drying capacity per batch and will have a rice mill that has eight to 10 tons capacity per hour.

"So, roughly 100 bags (of 50 kilos) per farmer. That's 24 farmers per batch. So, it depends. If one batch is dry, it's only eight hours. So, you can have two batches per day, 48 farmers in a day can sell fresh rice. Because for now, we can't buy fresh rice. It's really dry because we don't dry it. So, imagine the shift," he said.

Once completed, farmers who would sell their rice crops to NFA can bring it straight to the warehouse for free processing.

"Unlike now, they will bring it to the drying area, probably to the basketball court, probably to the road. So, that's the acute deficiency of Philippine agriculture, the post-harvest facilities. And the NFA is one in addressing this problem," Lacson said.

He said funding was allotted in last year and this year's budget for the project, roughly P45 million for the building itself and P238 million for the equipment, like dryers, rice mill, and weighing scale, among others.

The NFA targets to inaugurate the warehouse by December this year.

"This construction will take eight months. The machines will arrive, it will be assembled, and will be tested. Hopefully, the two-month period will be completed. The installation and commissioning," he said.

The NFA has two rice warehouses in Pangasinan – this town and Binalonan. (PNA)